Providing you with selected content from the Pinewood Derby Times Newsletter, and other writings.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

PINEWOOD DERBY CAR SHOWCASE

1969 Dodge Charger Daytona - Andy Holzer
For his 2012 car, my son Noah decided to build one of his favorite
cars, a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. While we were attempting an
alignment we found the dominant front axle hole was not drilled deep
enough and we had compromised the hole when removing weight from the
bottom. I tried to clean up the hole using the pin vise with a #44
bit, but this did not help. We decided to over bend the dominant
front axle and run with it. We got the drift set and were ready to
run.

The Charger Daytona was quite fast, but the alignment held it to
seventh place in the open race at his old pack. A couple of weeks
later we attended a pinewood derby sponsored by a local motorcycle
shop. Before the race we took out the bad axle, fixed the axle hole
and re-aligned the car. The Daytona placed 3rd in that race. Not a
bad car for a five day build!

Lil Deuce Coupe - Joe Bowen
After I had almost completed this car, my son said it would look
better with headlights and tail lights. I used a Dremel tool to carve
out all the wood possible to squeeze in the wiring, batteries and
lights. It won Best Design in the Open Division.

Can-Am Racer - Joseph Baron
On the Can-Am Racer, weight and weight distribution rapidly became a
factor with the addition of fenders. So, the car and windscreen were
completely hollowed out with a roto-tool, filled with spray-in foam,
and then skinned over and painted. The stock wheels were lightened by
drilling and then checked for balance and trueness. The car has not
raced yet, but following your tips on axles, wheels, lubrication,
etc., it should be a winner. We'll let you know...